At Seattle Prep, subtle social differences define our culture more than any student handbook ever could. The silent divide between upperclassmen and underclassmen isn’t about age, it’s about tote bags, seating arrangements, and, even the length of prom dresses.
Among junior and senior girls, tote bags have replaced backpacks. Based on informal student estimates, nearly 95% of upperclassmen girls bring tote bags to school, while 100% of underclassmen stick to the traditional backpack. When asked the origin of this trend, many upperclassmen cite style or practicality reasons, but this style holds a symbolic weight. It’s a visual marker of age and belonging. It’s something to look forward to. A minor yet earned privilege that marks the transition from underclassman to upperclassman.
The tote bags symbolize upperclassman status, but the Navone Great Room enforces it physically during lunchtime. Ironically, the “Great” Room suggests it was designed for everyone, due to its communal image presented during Open House, but 90% of people sitting there during lunchtime are junior and senior girls. Meanwhile, most underclassmen hangout in the Paccar Commons and nearly all the boys sit in the second-floor Smith Café Cafeteria. Many students sit where they do simply because that’s how it’s always been, the status quo. Though there are no strict rules of access, these social norms create a sense of belonging for older students. It’s a sense felt by upperclassmen that they’ve earned their place at Prep after years of being the ones looking in from the outside.
This separation continues at school events, like Spring Prom. Juniors wear shorter and trendier dresses, while seniors traditionally wear floor-length gowns. To the naked eye, this seems like a hierarchy based on beauty, yet it reflects the idea that juniors are looking forward to senior year, and seniors are marking their final celebration at Prep with a taste of formality.
None of these customs are written into school policy, yet they are passed down through quiet imitation. These traditions, whether it be what we carry, what we wear, or even where we sit, show how each high school, specifically Seattle Prep, creates its own codes for belonging. That’s what makes these traditions meaningful; they aren’t forced, they’re chosen. Instead of dividing each class, these small differences in daily life give them something to look forward to and grow into. But as tote bags replace backpacks, and the Great Room becomes off-limits to unknowing freshmen, it’s worth asking, what do you think these traditions really say about Prep?
